ROLLING STONE(d), 2007:
If he weren’t rich, handsome and so well married, you might feel a little sorry for John Edwards. Never before in the 231-year history of our republic have the inalienable traits that Edwards possesses — his fair skin and a Y chromosome — been anything but a prerequisite for presidential politics. Today, his race and gender stand a chance of derailing his campaign altogether. “There’s a lot of democrats who would like to make history,” says Markos Moulitsas, founder of the influential online forum Daily Kos. “The party is anxious to nominate a black or a woman,” agrees Dick Morris, the former adviser to Bill Clinton. “You have to sign off on either of those two options before you even get to voting for Edwards.”

(NEWSBUSTERS)
Rolling Stone then established the bonafides of John Edwards as the “Real Liberal.”

(ROLLING STONE(d)):
...Flying below the radar, the former vice-presidential candidate is pulling off a feat that Democratic consultants have long considered impossible: staking out the most progressive platform among the viable candidates while preserving an aura of electability...